A customer of ours put one of our Russian Model 1891/30 Mosin Nagant Rifle Crates to good to good use. We have heard of this being done before, but Spikes08 was kind enough to post about it on AR15.com and then allow us to repost on our blog.
Check it out:
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1. Register to vote
2. Vote
3. Join the NRA
Now on to the substantive post 5k.
I original saw this piece of awesomeness you see below on arfcom. I knew I had to have one. So I got in touch with Bryan at AIM and acquired some mosin crates and Laminate Stock M44s. Thanks Bryan!
Now my photography equipment consisted of an IPHONE 4, so the pics are not as crisp as what you see above. Additionally, this project was a lot more work than I anticipated.
First you start with a basic crate. The wood on the inside is generally in good shape, the wood on the outside; not so much. They move the crates around with forklifts so you can imagine what could go wrong. There are several places that I had to repair with wood putty. I forgot to take pics of that process.
You can see here some of the wear on the outside. The undersides are where the abuse really happens. You can also see the cosmoline leaching through the wood.
I went to Lowe’s and got some paint matched, then painted the outside. (Apparently, the paint match guy was off a tad). I wanted to preserve the original markings so I painted around them. I considered painting the whole crate and attempting to stencil the markings back on, but that just seemed like a lot of work.
Rifles came in around this time. Fresh out of the box, covered in cosmoline.
Couldn’t resist putting them in the crate at this point.
Then couldn’t resist cleaning the rifles. I used mineral spirits for the metal parts, followed by Hopps #9. For the wood, I let it sit in the hot sun and wiped off the cosmoline as it came out of the stocks.
Next I decided that I wanted some feet for the table. While wandering around a surplus store with another arfcommer “M4Geek”, I discovered these jewels.
I took these bolts, that fit the threads of the inside of the inert grenades, and cut the bolt head off.
Then I drilled holes in the bottom of the crate and glued them in.
Then just add inert grenade and floor sliders on bottom of grenade.
Next it was on to the lighting, then the top of the table to hold the glass. I bought the lighting at Lowe’s, while I out sourced the table top to an expert . I did stain the top and install myself. Tried to hide the wires as best I could.
Table was now starting to come to life!!!!!!
I ordered the glass from Glass Doctor. Installed with clear caulk and screwed the two pieces of the top together.
Kept all original hinges. I did add an additional hinge for a lock.
Thanks to arfcom and all it has given me
Especially like to thank Bryan at AIM.
Also, if you guys aren’t reading Direct Action’s monthly column in the ar15.com news letter, you are really missing out. Very well researched and written piece. Good work Joe!!!
Total cost for this table some where are $275-300. Man hours=25-35
Crate from AIM (if you pick it up) $5-10
Paint-$15
Grenade feet-$7 a piece
Lighting $140
Bolts-$2
Sliders-$5
Lock and hinge-$15
Glass-$50
Clear caulk-$3
Stain-$10
Screws-$5
Shower board- $15